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There is good evidence for mound building, presumably accompanied by a commensurately rich ceremonial life, as early as the middle of the fourth millennium BC at Watson Brake, Louisiana, where mounds and intervening ridges defined a large oval area. Earthen (or shell) mounds, as well as a demarcation of open spaces partly or entirely surrounded by mounds or embankments, were associated with many societies from then onward. Their construction often represented continuity in existing practices, modified to meet local needs, but sometimes they appear to have been entirely independent...

There is good evidence for mound building, presumably accompanied by a commensurately rich ceremonial life, as early as the middle of the fourth millennium BC at Watson Brake, Louisiana, where mounds and intervening ridges defined a large oval area. Earthen (or shell) mounds, as well as a demarcation of open spaces partly or entirely surrounded by mounds or embankments, were associated with many societies from then onward. Their construction often represented continuity in existing practices, modified to meet local needs, but sometimes they appear to have been entirely independent developments. From the historic period back to the late first millennium AD, many major settlements were arranged around open spaces flanked by special forms of architecture, typically including mounds but sometimes only large wooden buildings.